Britax Frontier or Parkway?

Hello,
I have a dd who will be 7 later this month in a Britax Regent and another dd who is 3 in a Marathon. The Marathon is from our oldest, so it is getting to the age where it needs to be replaced (and the youngest is starting to reach the top of it). We will be moving the youngest to the Regent and so we need to buy a new seat for our oldest, who is 42 lbs. and 45 inches. We drive a 2001 Toyota Corolla and there are about 3.5 inches between the widest parts of the two seats, so not much can fit between them.

I am trying to decide between a Frontier or a Parkway for the oldest. We have used LATCH on our seats for the most part (but the oldest now reaches the max for LATCH so the seatbelt must be used) and don't have too many issues. It's just such a tiny car and it takes about 20 minutes to get the carseats in as it is when we have to switch b/c it's so tiny we have to hunch down and get in the seats to get them tightened down enough. Normally this wouldn't even be an issue, the Frontier would be my choice b/c the oldest is still near the minimum for the Parkway and I'd prefer a harness for her still. However, I've read many, many reviews about the difficulty of installing the Frontier and I wonder if it will be terrible for us, esp. not being able to use the LATCH. Tethers aren't a problem, we have anchor points.

Has anyone here used the Frontier in a corolla or same size vehicle? The Parkway wouldn't have installation issues, but from what I understand it's harder for kids to buckle themselves than the Frontier b/c of the anti-submarine feature which I like but wonder at the comfort of as well.

Any input is hugely appreciated as I'll be making a decision very soon. Thank you!

I should add that I really want one of these. I've researched for hours on the other options, including Nautilus, but for various reasons it's down to these two, which doesn't surprise me since I do love Britax.

I have no issues with a 7 year old in a booster. I wouldn't buy a harnessed seat for my own 7 year old unless the child was developmentally delayed or special needs.

I'd get the Parkway.

if you want the child harnessed, I'd go with the Frontier... if booster, I'd go with the Parkway

for boosters, did you look at the Recaro Vivo and clek oobr?

It really does come down to a booster vs a harness. Do you want him in a harness or are you comfortable with him in a booster. Can he sit properly in a booster all the time? At 7 my guess is that he can. He is small for his age but he is big enough and old enough to be in a booster. Both seats would work for him.

I go a different route altogether and just purchase a Frontier for the 3 yo and have the children switch seats when either seat is outgrown by height by the child using it. In other words, if the 7 yo outgrows the Regent, move the 3 yo to it and have the 7 yo use the Frontier in booster mode. Or, when the 3 yo outgrows the Frontier in harness mode, let the 7 yo use it as a BPB and give the Regent to the 3 yo until it expires. :twocents:

Kat Momof3: Thank you for the suggestions of the Recaro or clek. I've looked into them as well. I like the Parkway feature of the slide guard, which the Recaro doesn't have. And the clek costs the same as the Frontier so if I were going to spend that much on a seat, I would go with the Frontier since you can also use the Frontier booster mode with LATCH.

Thank you all so much for your advice and input. I talked to Britax and they said that the Frontier can only be used long route in the Corolla and it requires "maximum effort" and two people have to do it to get it installed correctly. So it's possible to put it in the car, but it will be next to impossible for me to do it by myself if for some reason I needed to mess with it when my husband wasn't around.

I haven't completely made up my mind, I'm giving it at least a couple more days before purchasing, but I'm thinking I'm going to go ahead with the Parkway. The slide guard feature makes me feel a lot better about it the harness-to-booster transition, but I'm just nervous since we've always done harness.

She will be 7 this month, though, and I can't imagine her being in a harness for more than another year. She isn't mentioning anything about it yet, but none of her friends are in harness and most aren't even in high-back booster, if they are even in a booster. Some aren't. I'm not a mother who caves in to her child's wishes when it comes to their safety by any means but I have a feeling that her being in a harness will be an issue for her in the near future and there would be battles. I feel better that many of you have mentioned that a booster would be acceptable for her.